Gulenist H-1B and E-3 Work Visas:Oct 1, 2011 - Mar 31, 2012

Page created Nov 23, 2012

This page continues where the previous page for Oct 1, 2010 - Sep 30, 2011 left off. The table below shows 193 visa applications identified so far for the half-year period Oct 1, 2011 - Mar 31, 2012. This is slightly encouraging compared to the 771 visa applications of the previous full year, since 2 x 193 = 386. If this reduced rate continues for the second half of 2012, the rate of application will have been cut by approximately half.

H-1B and E-3 (Australian) visas are non-immigrant work visas. The latest data from the Department of Labor go up to only March 31, 2012. When additional data become available, they will be posted on this site.

These applications are for the Gulen charter schools as well as Gulenist corporations, at least some of which derive their clientele from these schools. A few are for Gulenist "dialog" organizations.

The Kulen Law Firm, which handles immigration and visa cases for several Gulen charter schools in the eastern US (see this page), employs workers on H-1B visas itself.

Note that some additional Gulenist corporations may have filed applications that have not yet been added to this list. This is quite possible, as Gulenists are constantly founding new corporations and changing names. Moreover, misspellings (some likely deliberate) are common.

A new twist is that some of the visas filed by the Cosmos Foundation or Harmony Public Schools in Texas are now for "Japanese language teacher," "German language teacher," or "French language teacher." It should not be assumed immediately that these are for non-Gulenists. There are Gulen schools and organizations in many different countries, so there are Japanese-, German-, and French-speaking followers of Gulen. Some may be native Turkish speakers who learned the language of the country they are now working in. However, the Gulen Movement is also active in recruiting new members from the native population in all the countries it is present in. The schools are a major vehicle for this recruitment, as has been noted by several researchers (see, e.g., this Dec 2011 article on graduates from Gulen schools in Bosnia returning to work at the same schools as teachers.)

There continue to be a number of applications for positions in accounting, IT, marketing, public relations and other fields where there is no demonstrable shortage of fully qualified US workers. Further, visa applications for ESL (English as a Second Language) teachers continue to be filed - and certified by the Department of Labor. One can only wonder at the reasoning that considers foreigners more qualified to teach English than native Americans, particularly as English teachers are already plentiful in the US.